Hey Testers, let’s start paying more attention to our bug language. If we start speaking properly, maybe the rest of the team will join in.

Bug vs. Bug Report:

We can start by noting the distinction between a bug and a bug report. When someone on the team says, “go write a bug for this”, what they really mean is “go write a bug report for this”. Right? They are NOT requesting that someone open the source code and actually write a logic error.

Bug vs. Bug Fix:

“Did you release the bug?”. They are either asking “did you release the actual bug to some environment?” or “did you release the bug fix?”.

Missing Context:

“Did you finish the bug?”. I hear this frequently. It could mean “did you finish fixing the bug?” or it could mean “did you finish logging the bug report?” or it could mean “did you finish testing the bug fix?”.

Bug State Ambiguity:

“I tested the bug”. Normally this means “I tested the bug fix.” However, sometimes it means “I reproduced the bug.”…as in “I tested to see if the bug still occurs”.

It only takes an instant to tack the word “fix” or “report” onto the word “bug”. Give it a try.

Who am I?

My typical day: get up, maybe hit the gym, drop my kids off at daycare, listen to a podcast or public radio, do not drink coffee (I kicked it), test software or help others test it, break for lunch and a Euro-board game, try to improve the way we test, walk the dog and kids, enjoy a meal with Melissa, an IPA, and a movie/TV show, look forward to a weekend of hanging out with my daughter Josie, son Haakon, and perhaps a woodworking or woodturning project.